Wallpaper trimmer

ABSTRACT

A wallpaper trimmer is disclosed as including a wallpaper slot and a blade holder disposed relative to the slot such that an inserted blade will trim the edge of untrimmed wallpaper thus replacing the presently used hand trimming and straight edge operation.

1451 Sept. 24, 1974 United States Patent 1191 Weppner WALLPAPER TRIMMER[76] Inventor:

Primary Examiner-Al Lawrence Smith Assistant ExaminerJ. C. Peters [22]Filed:

Attorney, Agent, or FirmStanley J. Yavner D 384 9m m 3 xz M33 00 W No"O0 2 munu m mh c r. Ha e s l C WM UmF Ill 2100 555 [ll A wallpapertrimmer is disclosed as including a wall- [56] References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS paper slot and a blade holder disposed relative to theslot such that an inserted blade will trim the edge ofGelleff.................................. untrimmed wallpap r thusreplacing the presently 2,601,183 6/1952UnS11'1g61'.....,..,...................... 30/293 used hand trimming andStraight g Operation FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 682,347 11/1952Great Britain....................,... 30/293 1 Claim, 3 Drawing FiguresWALLPAPER TRIMMER This invention relates primarily to wallpaper trimmersand more particularly to apparatus useful in removing the untrimmed edgeof wallpaper stock while the wallpaper is in a pasted and foldedcondition.

It is quite common in todays available markets to purchase wallpaperwhich has an edge measuring anywhere from inch to 2 inches ofunpatterned stock. The purpose of such untrimmed edge stock is primarilyto avoid damage during transit or storage to the patterned area of thewallpaper. It is particularly noteworthy that more of the expensivepatterns and stocks of wallpaper include such an untrimmed edge thanthose patterns and stocks of the inexpensive variety. Thus, it becomesincreasingly important to provide an apparatus which reliably andefficiently removes the untrimmed edge prior to mounting the wallpaperonto the wall.

A typical wallpaper operation presently used to remove the untrimmededge as described above involves taking a measured strip of wallpaperand placing it face down upon a wallpapering table. The back of thewallpaper is then covered with wallpaper paste. Before the paste drys,the wallpaper is typically folded such that the two end quarters of thesheet of wallpaper are back to back and paste to paste with the secondand third quarters (the middle quarters) of the sheet of wallpaper. lnthis way, the sheet of wallpaper may be handled without any paste beingexposed and yet without any damage to the wallpaper occurring since thepaste is not at this time dry. The manufacturer of untrimmed wallpaperusually provides markings to indicate the trimming location, with suchmarkings being spaced every one or two feet along the length of thepattern. A straight edge is therefore placed on top of the folded andpasted wallpaper with its edge along the markings of the manufacturer asaforesaid. A blade holder with a single edged blade inserted is thenmoved along the straight edge so that the untrimmed portion of thewallpaper is removed.

The method as described above used typically by present day wallpapererssuffers frommany disadvantages. For instance, the metal straight edgeused in the process may move slightly thus causing a trimming of toomuch or too little of the portion to be removed. Another disadvantage isthat the cutting edge is held by ones hand, and even if the straightedge does not move, it is possible that the cutting edge can cause anundesired and/or uneven trimming operation. A still further disadvantageoccurs when the wallpapering table is unavailable, since a flat surfaceis necessary for the presently used trimming procedure.

Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide awallpaper trimmer that is efficient and reliable and which avoids thedisadvantages attendant to the presently used procedures for trimmingwallpaper.

A further and more particular object is to provide a wallpaper trimmerwhich combines in its construction a straight edge and a cuttingtoolsuch that neither may be moved independently during the cuttingoperation, thus avoiding the primary pitfalls of the presently usedstructures for trimming wallpaper.

A still further object is to provide a wallpaper trimmer which avoidsthe necessity for a wallpapering table during the edge trimmingoperation.

These and other objects of the present invention are accomplished in onepreferred embodiment which features a wallpaper trimmer useful inremoving the untrimmed portion of wallpaper commonly a part of wallpaperstock. The wallpaper trimmer includes a main body section which ishorizontally oriented and which defines a wallpaper slot through whichthe wallpaper stock is slidably inserted for the cutting operation.Attached to and upwardly extending from the main body section is atrimmer sidewall whose function it is to act as the handle for thetrimmer operator as well as to mount both the main body section and theblade holder of the present invention. The blade holder includes dualmounting screws extending through the trimmer sidewall onto which ismounted a conventional single edge blade holder. The dual arrangement ofscrews is used to fix the orientation of the blade holder such that theblade inserted thereto provides an angle of approximately 45 with theplane of the main body section. Each screw is fitted with a first nutfor backing the blade holder and a wing nut to facilitate transverseadjustment of the blade holder from the trimmer sidewall, such thatvarious amounts of trim may be removed de-. pending upon themanufacturers pattern. The edge of the main body section nearest theblade holder is bevelled and marked with calibrations, for instance,from zero to two inches so that a predetermined amount of edge may beremoved with each cutting. The trimmer is intended for use such that thewallpaper is moved through the slot with the left hand towards thecutting edge while the right hand holds the trimmer side wall. Theterminal internal edge of the slot is machined so that the untrimmededge of the wallpaper, as it slides through, becomes a reference edgefor the cutting operation. Of course, the operators hands may bereversed so that the left one holds the trimmer sidewall and the rightone moves the wallpaper through the slot towards the cutting edge.

The above brief description, as well as further objects, features andadvantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated byreference to the following detailed description of the preferred, butnonetheless illustrative embodiment when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view ofa wallpaper trimmer according to thepresent invention showing particularly a cutting operation on a piece ofuntrimmed wallpaper;

FIG. 2 is a front sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 andshowing particularly the angle that the cutting edge makes with the mainbody section during the cutting operation; and

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1 andshowing the view of the wallpaper trimmer from the source of flow ofwallpaper through the device.

Looking at the drawing in detail, the wallpaper trimmer generallydesignated 10 is shown as including a main body section 12 defining ahorizontally oriented slot 14. The slot has upper, lower and inwardwalls, respectively 16, 18, 20 as defined by upper and lower main bodysection flanges 22, 24.

Trimmer sidewall 26 extends upwardly from main body section 12 and isactually a part thereof as a result of an extrusion from a metallicmaterial or the like. Trimmer sidewall 26 actually has a dual function;that is, to provide a handle for the deviceand also to mount a cuttingtool for the device as will hereinafter be described.

Blade holder 28 is mounted by two mounting screws 30, 32 which fix theblade holder 28 in a particular orientation with reference to main bodysection 12. Blade 34, of the conventional single edge variety isinserted to the slot 36 defined by blade holder 28. Back nut 38threadably attached to screw 30 and back nut 40 threadably attached toscrew 32 work in cooperation with wing nuts 42, 44 to provide atransverse adjustability for blade holder 28 with respect to trimmersidewall 26. Furthermore, calibrations, generally designated 46 on upperflange 22 of main body section 12, indicate the adjustment position forblade holder 28 depending upon the measurement of trim to be'removedfrom wallpaper 48 during the operation of the device according to thepresent invention. Furthermore, stabilizing nuts 50, 52 are tightlythreaded respectively on screws 30, 32 against trimmer sidewall 26 inorder to stabilize the disposition of blade holder 28.

In order to provide a more complete description of the presentinvention, a typical series of wallpaper trimming operation steps willnow be set forth in detail: The wallpaper is first cut to a desiredlength and then pasted and folded as is done in the conventionally usedoperation for trimming. The paper is then folded over such that the endquarters of the length of wallpaper are backed onto the middle quartersto form a seam 54. The trimming operator then grasps the wallpapertrimmer by its trimmer sidewall 26 with his right hand and grasps'thewallpaper 48 with his left hand to move it in direction 56 through thedevice. Of course prior to such motion, the transverse adjustment forblade holder 28 is made according to the amount of trim to be removedfrom the wallpaper.

As the wallpaper 48 is moved through the device, it encounters cuttingblade 34 which is arranged at approximately a 45 angle relative to mainbody section 12. The cutting blade is accommodated by means of bevel 58provided in the cutting edge end of upper and lower main body sectionflanges 22, 24.

It may be seen therefore that an efficient and reliable wallpapertrimming device is provided whereby the stiffness of the pastedwallpaper itself provides the accurate reference against inward wall 20of slot 14.

What is claimed is:

l. A wallpaper trimmer construction for trimming an untrimmed edge ofwallpaper by use of a cutting edge comprising a substantially planarmain body section having opposed upper and lower flanges planarthroughout their length defining therebetween a wallpaper slot, meansfor providing a handle for said construction, a cutting edge holderassembly connected by said handle means to said main body section andhaving a cutting edge holder for disposing a cutting edge perpendicularto the plane of said slot, all arranged and adapted to trim saiduntrimmed edge as wallpaper is moved through said slot toward saidcutting edge holder, both of said planar flanges being bevelled at theedge thereof nearest said cutting edge holder to form an approximately45 angle between the plane of said bevel and said main body section inorder to provide support for said wallpaper at the point of contact ofsaid wallpaper with said cutting edge.

1. A wallpaper trimmer construction for trimming an untrimmed edge ofwallpaper by use of a cutting edge comprising a substantially planarmain body section having opposed upper and lower flanges planarthroughout their length defining therebetween a wallpaper slot, meansfor providing a handle for said construction, a cutting edge holderassembly connected by said handle means to said main body section andhaving a cutting edge holder for disposing a cutting edge perpendicularto the plane of said slot, all arranged and adapted to trim saiduntrimmed edge as wallpaper is moved through said slot toward saidcutting edge holder, both of said planar flanges being bevelled at theedge thereof nearest said cutting edge holder to form an approximately45* angle between the plane of said bevel and said main body section inorder to provide support for said wallpaper at the point of contact ofsaid wallpaper with said cutting edge.